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Smock

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.Contact us for information about using this image.

Smocks used to protect one's clothing while undertaking messy household chores rarely survive from early America, since they were the garments most likely to be damaged over time. This rare example of a woman's everyday work clothes is made of the blue and white checked cloth that was also commonly used for women's aprons and men's shirts. The several stains and patches suggest the hard use such garments saw; however, the seam under the bust line suggests that the garment was intended to conform to the silhouette popular toward the end of the 18th century, indicating that even work clothes responded in some ways to prevailing fashions.